RAF or Navy

My son does not know i am asking this question so please no comments re getting my son to ask.
My son is 16 and wants to join one of the forces.
He is deciding between the RAF and Navy.
Not sure what to add to help decide, so..
He is already 6ft2 and growing. Strong albeit slightly built.
He is intelligent but not one for the classroom - preferring physical activities.
Would prefer (yes me) not to be away away forever.
I would appreciate any advice so I can try to help steer him.
Thank you in advance for anything you can share

My son does not know i am asking this question so please no comments re getting my son to ask.
My son is 16 and wants to join one of the forces.
He is deciding between the RAF and Navy.
Not sure what to add to help decide, so..
He is already 6ft2 and growing. Strong albeit slightly built.
He is intelligent but not one for the classroom - preferring physical activities.
Would prefer (yes me) not to be away away forever.
I would appreciate any advice so I can try to help steer him.
Thank you in advance for anything you can share

Hi and welcome! First of all, I’m not going to comment about asking on behalf of your son. I understand that you’re trying to help him decide and need advice. No issues with that!
However, this is one of these queries which is impossible to answer directly in order to add any value, as we know nothing about your son, his interests, qualifications or ambitions. Why, for instance, is he interested in the RAF or RN but not the Army? There are any number of jobs available in the Armed Forces, and some are equivalent in each service, although they may be called something different. If you know what type of role he was interested in, that narrows down the options and you can then start to make comparisons between the services. However, at the moment, it’s like asking “My son wants to be a Doctor or a Vet - what do you think he should do?”
My best advice at this stage, is to sit with him and drill down into what he actually would be interested in doing, what his ambitions are, and what does he think he will achieve in the military that he can’t achieve in civvy street. There is an awful lot of information available on each of the Armed Forces careers information websites, and I would recommend you and he going through those together. Armed with information, and any specific questions, I would strongly recommend you approach a local Armed Forces Careers Office (if your son is happy for you to go with him) and speak to representatives of each of the services he’s interested in, and ask those specific questions face to face.
In terms of asking questions on this forum, I’m afraid to say, you might as well stop someone on the street and ask them which armed service they would recommend. There used to be a number of serving personnel (of all the Armed Forces) on here, together with a number of recently retired veterans who would give very useful and targeted advice. Unfortunately, most of those have drifted away and I’m not aware of any currently serving personnel who post advice consistently. I was RAF aircrew for 30+ years, and have been on TSR for over 15 years, but rarely post anything now (and only check the site occasionally), as the modern RAF bears only a passing resemblance to the one I served in, and I’m no longer qualified to give specific advice on any aspects of the military, although I can give a generalised opinion. I obviously had a brilliant career, and it’s definitely what you make of it, but organisations and people change, and the life I enjoyed may not be what your son and his peers would like.
However, one of the really important things to note about a career in any of the Armed Forces is that it’s not your normal 9-5 job, and it’s fair to say that in exchange for a number of very generous perks and benefits, you are effectively ‘owned’ by your employer (and the Government) for the duration of your contracted service, however long that may be. So, if a crisis brews on the home or international front (read the news!) and the Government needs a military response, you go, and a sick note from Mum won’t cut the mustard 🤣 . It’s also crucial to understand that the Armed Forces are not just another job creation scheme, but are the arm of government which uses lethal force if required. There are no military jobs (that I’m aware of) where you are not classed as a ‘Warfighter’ first, and specialist second. If your son is not comfortable with this concept, then respectfully he needs to look at a different career.
I’m sorry this doesn’t directly answer the question ‘RAF v RN - discuss’, but this is the best advice I can give at this stage with very limited information to go on. I would be very happy to discuss it further, once you have had that conversation with your son.
Very best of luck
icky.

I cannot thank you enough for such a detailed reply. So kind and really appreciated. We took your advice and contacted the careers information and will be discussing things further with them. Thank you again

You’re very welcome! You’re doing the right thing. When thinking of joining the Armed Forces it’s really important to understand what you’re joining and what they are going to expect from you, and vice versa. Best wishes to your son and I hope he gets the information he needs and chooses a career in which he’s happy and one which develops and grows his skills and talents.
Ikky